January 2010 Issue

Remote Control Mains Switch

Want to switch mains-powered appliances on and off remotely? This UHF wireless remote control system can do it for you with a simple two-button on-off controller.

Also included is a timer turn-off feature from 1 minute to 15 hours. A ten-channel coding system means you can independently control up to 10 UHF remote switches using a single transmitter. Rated at 2,500 watts over a range of up to 200 metres – more than ten times the range from low cost commercial units.

UHF Remote Transmitter

A PICmicro-powered handheld unit designed for our UHF Remote Mains Switch. Based on a pre-assembled transmitter module, making it easy to build and get going. Two button operation with BCD selector switch.

Playback Adapter for CDROM Drives (Part 2)

Describing the construction of our new CD-ROM Player Adapter – an Atmel microcontroller project that provides the capability to remotely control up to two PC CDROM drives for audio playback.

12-24V High Current Motor Speed Controller (Part 2)

This follow-up article shows you how to build and test our 12V-24V high current motor speed controller. It has a 40 amp rating, soft start and speed regulation. Just the thing for robot wars, buggies and more applications besides.

Teach-In 2010 (Part 3) Ladder Logic Programming for the PICmicro

Timers and Shift Registers – this engineering-style technique of programming microcontrollers offers broad appeal to those more used to dealing with e.g. PLCs and industrial controls.

Recycle It! - Our highly popular feature devoted to recycling the bits from scrapped electronic equipment and appliances shows how to build a cheap analogue or LED level meter from a discarded receiver.